The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Rust and Rustoleum

I was just on the Rustoleum website and under metal rust they have products to strip the rust off metal (rust stripper), change the rust into metal (rust reformer), and then a heavy rust and metal primer.

I have a heavily rusted truck and looked into grinding, blasting, and chemically removing the rust.

I wonder what these products would be like if they were to be used in the strip, reform, and primer sequence? I have some of the primer and it is very thick. And following this rustoleum treatment could the truck parts be shot with an etching primer then painted?

Any ideas?

hey blue... you might oughta read a bit on the rustoleum site concerning their "rusty metal primer"... they advise only using it over "rusty" metal and not to use it on "clean" metal... i assume they intend that several types of primer be used depending on surface... also note that the "rusty metal primer" contains "fish oil" which will bleed through to the top coat causing it to peel off... i've personally experienced this wonderful feature... supposedly the fish oil idea came about on old fishing ships when they coated the metal parts to prevent rust... rustolem cashed in on the idea in their early days... i have no idea what they expect folks to use over the rusty metal primer... i've never found anything that would stick to it for very long... i've quit using the stuff because of the problems...
bill in va

oldbluetruck,

hillcitybill sure did his homework...everything he mentions is 100% true and speaks from experience.

The Rustoleum products shouldn't be confused with automotive products. If you have a oil well in your back yard, or a rusty tractor, you would be all set using the Rustoleum paints.

Anywhere you intend on putting automotive paint would need a foundation of primers and sealers that are compatible with that paint...you won't find these at ACE hardware.

Etch primer is applied to clean, bare steel. The acid component of it 'etches' the bare steel to promote adhesion and inhibit rust.

A truck frame might be a good candidate for Rustoleum, but not a body panel. Before you pick up the spray gun, do some research, read the labels on the can, and talk to the counter guy/gal at the automotive paint store.

Stuart